Seller Disclosure Statement QLD: What Private Sellers Need to Know (2026)

If you’re selling a property in Queensland, there’s one document you need before any buyer can sign: the seller disclosure statement. It has been compulsory since 1 August 2025, it applies whether you use an agent or sell yourself, and if it’s missing or wrong, your buyer may be able to walk away from the contract right up to settlement.

That’s a lot riding on one form. But it’s far more manageable than it sounds. The statement is a standard government form (Form 2), mostly yes-or-no questions, backed by a set of official searches and certificates. Most private sellers have their solicitor put it together alongside the contract. The part that catches people out is timing, so the aim is simple: have it ready before you start taking offers, not after.

What is a seller disclosure statement?

A seller disclosure statement is a Queensland Government form (Form 2) that a seller must give a buyer, together with certain official certificates, before the buyer signs a contract to buy the property. It came in under the Property Law Act 2023 and applies to houses, townhouses, units, commercial property and vacant land. It sets out the key legal facts about the property: title and encumbrances, tenancies, zoning, government notices, environmental listings, heritage, pools and body corporate details. You sign it, or someone you authorise, such as your solicitor or agent, can sign it for you (an electronic signature is fine). Either way it’s your statement and your responsibility.

Before August 2025, Queensland sat closer to “buyer beware”, and buyers had to dig up much of this themselves. Now the core facts go on the table first, in one standard format. For an honest seller that’s good news: a complete statement answers a lot of buyer questions before they’re asked, and it applies to every seller in the state, private or not.

One small trap when you search for it: Queensland’s residential tenancy bond lodgement form is also called “Form 2”. That’s a different form for landlords. The one you want is the Form 2 Seller Disclosure Statement, published on the Queensland Government’s seller disclosure page.

What goes into Form 2?

The form has four parts. Most questions are answered yes or no, and a “yes” usually means attaching the relevant document or notice.

Part	What it covers
1. Seller and property	Your name, the property address and the lot and plan description
2. Title, encumbrances and tenancy	The title search, registered and unregistered encumbrances (easements, covenants and the like), statutory encumbrances, and any residential tenancy or rooming accommodation agreement
3. Land use, planning and environment	Zoning, transport infrastructure proposals, resumption notices, contaminated land or environmental register listings, tree applications or orders, heritage listing
4. Buildings and structures	Whether there’s a pool on the lot (or on common property), body corporate details for community titles schemes, and notices under the building, planning and building-contractor laws

The certificates you attach

Alongside the form, you give the buyer the “prescribed certificates” that apply to your property. According to the Queensland Government, these include:

a title search and the registered survey plan
any environmental notices under the Environmental Protection Act
any building or planning notices
any tree application or order under Queensland’s dividing fences and trees law
if there’s a regulated pool, a pool safety certificate or, if you don’t have a current one, a Form 36 notice that there’s no pool safety certificate (either way, before the buyer signs)
for units and townhouses in a body corporate, the community management statement and a body corporate certificate (if the body corporate can’t provide the certificate in time, your solicitor can give the buyer an explanatory statement instead, so it needn’t stall the sale)

A freehold house with no pool, no tenant and no notices will have a fairly short pack. A unit with a shared pool and a tenant in place will have more pieces, and the body corporate certificate in particular can take a while to arrive, so start early.

What the statement doesn’t cover

The form doesn’t ask about the structural soundness of the building, its flooding history or previous building and development approvals. Buyers still need their own building and pest inspection and their own flood and approval checks, and the form isn’t a substitute for those.

The form also isn’t the whole of your honesty obligations. If you know about a problem that the form doesn’t ask about, raise it with your solicitor rather than assuming silence is fine. Our guide to what you need to disclose when selling your home covers the broader picture.

When does the buyer need to receive it?

Before they sign the contract. That’s the rule, and it’s why timing matters so much for a private seller.

At an auction, you must give or make available the statement and certificates before the fall of the hammer. For a private treaty sale, which is how most private sellers sell, the practical answer is: have it ready before your first open home. A keen buyer can make an offer at the first inspection, and if your pack isn’t ready, you can’t let them sign until it is. Waiting a week for a search to come back while a buyer cools off is exactly the situation you want to avoid.

The statement has to be correct on the day you give it, not just the day it was prepared. If your campaign runs for months, ask your solicitor whether the title search and other results need refreshing before you hand the pack to a new buyer.

You can give it in person, by post, or by email or other electronic means. Whichever way you use, keep proof that the buyer received it: a read receipt, a reply email, or a signed acknowledgement. If a dispute ever comes up, the question will be whether you can show you gave it to them before they signed.

Who prepares the seller disclosure statement?

Legally, it’s your statement and your responsibility. You sign it, or authorise your solicitor or agent to sign it for you. Nothing requires you to use a professional. In practice, almost every private seller has their solicitor prepare it, and for good reason. The searches need ordering from several government sources, the answers need checking against those results, and a mistake can give your buyer a way out of the contract.

In Queensland, conveyancing is done by a solicitor, and the same firm usually prepares your contract of sale and your disclosure statement together. When you ask for quotes, ask specifically whether the disclosure statement and all the searches are included in the price, because the search fees add up and some quotes leave them out.

Your part is supplying what only you know. Have these ready for your solicitor:

any lease or tenancy agreement, if the property is tenanted
your pool safety certificate (or a Form 36 notice of no pool safety certificate), if you have a pool
body corporate contact details, if it’s a unit or townhouse
any letters or notices you’ve received from council, the state government or a utility (resumption, road or rail proposals, building or planning notices, tree orders)
anything you know about that isn’t on the title, such as a shared driveway arrangement with a neighbour

Then read the finished statement carefully before you sign. Your solicitor knows the law; you know the property.

If you’d like a recommendation

If you don’t already have a solicitor, one option is LawLab, a national property law firm that works fully online, including in Queensland where a solicitor is required. If you sign up through our referral, we may receive a small referral fee, at no extra cost to you. Any Queensland property solicitor can do this job, so choose whoever you’re comfortable with.

What happens if it’s missing or wrong?

This is the part of the law that gives the statement its teeth. According to the Queensland Government:

If you don’t give the statement and certificates at all, the buyer may be able to terminate the contract at any time up to settlement.
If what you give is inaccurate or incomplete, the buyer may be able to terminate up to settlement too, but only if the problem is material, they didn’t know about it when they signed, and they wouldn’t have signed if they had.

For a private seller, the bigger cost is timing. A sale that falls over a few days before settlement can mean you’ve already committed to your next home, turned away other buyers and lost weeks of marketing. So accuracy matters more than speed. Answer every question fully, attach the right certificates, and keep your proof of delivery.

The good news is how avoidable this is. The rules turn on things you control: giving the pack before the buyer signs, and making sure it’s complete and correct.

Your seller disclosure checklist (Queensland)

Engage your solicitor as soon as you decide to sell, and ask them to prepare the contract and the disclosure statement together.
Gather your documents: tenancy agreement, pool safety certificate or Form 36, body corporate details and any government or council notices.
Let your solicitor order the searches and complete Form 2 with you.
Read the statement and certificates, check every answer against what you know about the property, then sign.
Have the full pack ready before you list or before your first open home, so any buyer who wants to make an offer can receive it first.
Give it to each buyer before they sign the contract (before the fall of the hammer at auction), in person, by post or by email.
Keep proof of delivery, such as a read receipt or signed acknowledgement.
If something changes before a buyer signs, such as a new notice arriving, talk to your solicitor about giving an updated statement.

Does every Queensland sale need one?

Almost all do. The Queensland Government’s guidance lists a small number of exceptions, including sales where the buyer is the State, a government body or a listed corporation, some sales between related parties, sales over $10 million where the buyer waives disclosure, and a local council selling land to recover unpaid rates. If you’re selling a home to an ordinary buyer, assume you need one.

How it fits with the rest of your Queensland sale

The disclosure statement comes first, then the contract. Once the buyer has signed, Queensland buyers get a five business day cooling-off period on residential contracts signed by private treaty (not at auction); sellers don’t get one. From there your solicitor handles the conditions, the deposit in their trust account and, finally, settlement day.

If your property is tenanted, the tenancy agreement goes into Part 2 of the statement, and it’s worth reading up on selling a rental property with tenants before you list. For the whole process of selling in the state, from pricing to marketing to offers, see our guide to selling privately in Queensland.

The bottom line

Queensland’s seller disclosure statement is one form and a bundle of certificates that your buyer must have before they sign. It covers title, tenancies, planning and environmental notices, pools and body corporate details, not the building’s condition. You sign it, your solicitor usually prepares it, and the whole thing should be ready before your first open home. Get it complete and delivered on time and it’s just another item ticked off. Leave it late or get it wrong and your buyer may be able to walk away up to settlement.

Selling privately in Queensland means more paperwork than it did before August 2025, but none of it needs an agent. It needs a good solicitor, a bit of lead time and a seller who knows their property.

Selling your Queensland home yourself?

Get your disclosure statement sorted with your solicitor, then list on realestate.com.au and Domain without paying agent commission, with licensed agents to help 7 days a week.

See how selling privately works

Frequently asked questions

Is a seller disclosure statement mandatory in Queensland?
Yes. Since 1 August 2025, sellers of residential and commercial property and vacant land in Queensland must give the buyer a Form 2 seller disclosure statement and the prescribed certificates before the buyer signs the contract, whether or not an agent is involved. A small number of sales are exempt.

Who fills out the seller disclosure statement?
The seller is responsible for it and signs it, or authorises their solicitor or agent to sign it. Most sellers have their solicitor order the searches and prepare the form with them, usually at the same time as the contract of sale.

When do I have to give it to the buyer?
Before the buyer signs the contract. At an auction, it must be given or made available before the fall of the hammer. For a private sale, have it ready before your first open home so a buyer can receive it as soon as they want to make an offer.

What happens if I don’t give a disclosure statement?
The buyer may be able to terminate the contract at any time up to settlement. If the statement is given but is inaccurate or incomplete, the buyer may also be able to terminate before settlement, if the error is material, they didn’t know about it and they wouldn’t have signed had they known.

Does the disclosure statement cover the condition of the house?
No. It doesn’t cover structural soundness, flooding history or previous building and development approvals. Buyers still need their own building and pest inspection and their own checks.

Can I email the disclosure statement to a buyer?
Yes. You can give it in person, by post, or by email or other electronic means. Keep proof the buyer received it, such as a read receipt or a signed acknowledgement.

What if my property has a pool?
Form 2 asks whether there’s a pool on the lot or on common property. If you have a current pool safety certificate, it goes in the pack. If you don’t, you give the buyer a Form 36 notice that there’s no pool safety certificate instead, and it still has to be given before they sign; a certificate then has to be obtained within 90 days of settlement. Either way, sort it out with your solicitor early.